Background and career
Seydou Keïta (French pronunciation: [sɛdu kɛjta]; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former professional footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder. He is both the record appearance holder and scorer of the Mali national football team.
Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), winning 14 titles with the latter club after signing in 2008. He started his youth career in Mali and his professional career with Marseille. His career would take him to clubs in France, Spain, China, Italy and Qatar.
Keita represented Mali since the age of 18, appearing in seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and winning 102 caps, scoring 25 times. In addition to his Malian nationality, he also has French nationality.
